28 replies to this topic

[Ahoskie59]

I've done searches for this show but nothing. It has been on Animal Planet and now Discovery for a long time. Not sure if it should go into the News and Non Fiction thread or Candid Reality or How To Reality, since it's about fishing for things that lurk in rivers.

And I have to say that I like watching Jeremy Wade, he can make anything seem interesting, plus he's easy on the eyes as well, and as my friend says, "He talks pretty."

Edited by Ahoskie59, Aug 13, 2010 @ 2:45 PM.

[Quilt Fairy]

And I have to say that I like watching Jeremy Wade, he can make anything seem interesting, plus he's easy on the eyes as well,

Same here, Ahoskie59, same here. That light British accent is a killer. He mentions in one of the episodes that his hair went gray at 30, so he's obviously much younger than he seems at first glance. Just 'experienced' as they say in the Just For Men hair color commercials. There are starting to be a glut of 'Search for Giant Killer Fish' shows, but no other host I've seen is as good as JW.

What has me confused is what channel this show is actually on. Sometimes I see it on Discovery advertising a new episode, and I'll tune in only to discover that it's an episode I've already seen, probably on Animal Planet.

And while I probably would have stuck the thread in Candid Reality, How-to Reality would have been a mistake, IMO. When he goes swimming with pirahnas in the Amazon, I don't think that's really something he's trying to show viewers how to do!

I don't know if they're aired normally or just available OnDemand, but be sure to catch the shows titled 'River Monsters - Unhooked'. You get a running commentary from Jeremy about the episode via little blurbs at the bottom of the screen from his journal. They're quite entertaining.

[Ahoskie59]

The show originally was on Animal Planet and Discovery started showing it recently. I've seen many of the "unhooked" episodes which are very interesting. I've read somewhere that Wade is 50 and in another article it said he was 54.

What I like about him is how non judgmental he is of people wherever he is. Even in an episode in the Congo where he was told that the people were going to stone him if the chief's brother didn't come back (they thought his coming to the village had something to do with the chief's brother not coming back from fishing, but one night the brother came back and it was all good), Wade was like, "okay, I'll put that out of my mind and let's fish." I was all WTF, my behind would have been GONE. But I think he felt that, the people were superstitious and that was just the way they were and he didn't have the right to judge them. That's what I like about him.

River Monsters website at Animal Planet.

Edited by Ahoskie59, Aug 13, 2010 @ 6:23 PM.

[scionbunny]

Yay! Finally a thread for this show! I find it very interesting and Jeremy Wade is charming and informative. There is a "monster fish" show on NatGeo I have tried to watch, but it is so dull compared to River Monsters.

[Ahoskie59]

Last night on Animal Planet, they showed probably the first episode. It was two hours, the Goonch catfish. I realized why I really like Wade, the man has a lot of self awareness. He was in India, I believe and apparently many of the people who were supposed to talk to him about the catfish changed their minds. At first Wade thought that the people would be glad he was there trying to track down the thing, but later he could understand why the people were skeptical, that they probably couldn't believe he had traveled all that way just to look for a fish. The idea that Wade understood, that he could get why the people were skeptical (they might have thought he was some developer from the UK) says a lot about him, it says that he has a lot of self awareness, and that's not a bad thing in a person, not at all.

[ObstinantGirl]

Great show.
Very likeable guy.
Super talented fisherman.

But...lately we've noticed shades of "MonsterQuest" type editing and added (unnecessary) "drama" in the newer shows. My family loves River Monsters - and I hope they don't ruin it by going the MonsterQuest route (which is a TERRIBLE show).

[Ahoskie59]

I agree about the fake drama. I mean there's enough real drama this guy goes through, doesn't need any fake crap.

[AmyLynnEsq]

Who needs fake drama when you have stories of men being half swallowed by cat fish, or worse, fish swimming up into your... nether regions. Ugh. Remind me never go swim in the Amazon.

[Quilt Fairy]

Remind me never go swim in the Amazon.

Or the Congo or any where in Southeast Asia......

[wjcwm]

I am "hooked" on this show, and on Jeremy. Animal Planet is running a marathon today.

[Tableau]

Nat Geo was playing it non-stop over Christmas. This is quite a good show and Jeremy seems to be a very fearless guy.

[Ahoskie59]

Had to bump this up as the new season starts on Sunday.

[Dom Curry]

I'm enjoying the new episodes. But this season is a little scarier than others. It's amazing how he can find new fish to catch and doubly amazing how he can make even a clip show interesting, and re-use old footage. The old piranha clips, for instance, were well placed in Argentina.

[Quilt Fairy]

But this season is a little scarier than others.

Especially if you're a guy and you want to protect the family jewels.

[Diana Berry]

Have caught a couple of episodes...creepy but strangely entertaining.

[Macthekat]

I've watched a couple of episodes, due to the hubby and son already watching it, and I'm now a fan. Jeremy is quite nice to look at and listen to. He strikes me as very respectful of the cultures and customs of wherever he is visiting. I do have to say I would have never slowed down to watch this show if I'd known the title first ... 'River Monsters' just puts thoughts in my head that I'd never want to see on my tv, but Jeremy draws me in so I'll be back to watch his 'pretty.'

[Dom Curry]

I don't even mind watching the re-runs (River Monsters: Unhooked). Jeremy has a good charisma and an intriuging back-story which makes him an excellent and credible story-teller. Plus the notes they overlay in the unhooked shows do add value.

I didn't like the profanity in his latest jungle espisode, "Jungle Killer" in Suriname. I hope that stops although being hit by lightning and almost being bit by a caiman is a good excuse. I think the language is at odds with his persona of being very respectful to cultures.

This thread needs a snarkier name. How about
"River Monsters, Fish On! (cue commerial)" or
"River Monsters, 1001 ways to catch a piranha"

[Ahoskie59]

I didn't like the profanity in his latest jungle espisode, "Jungle Killer" in Suriname. I hope that stops although being hit by lightning and almost being bit by a caiman is a good excuse. I think the language is at odds with his persona of being very respectful to cultures.

I think this was the only time he really swore. But this past episode he seemed real stressed; he'd been hit by lightening, and then the fish broke off of his line. I think Jeremy was just frustrated at that point.

The "Lost Reels" of the episode in 2002, when he was in a plane crash; I'd only seen that on Youtube. But man, that was scary. I wish Jeremy would talk more about the time he was arrested for being a spy (I guess someone thought he was James Bond?)

[Tableau]

You know those British, with accents like those, they're all spies!

[Grubbs]

Anybody catch the Tribal episode? That - right there- was why J. Wade is so damned cool. It takes nuts to live off the grid with a removed peoples like that, seriously impressed with our man.

[scionbunny]

I just picked up Jeremy Wade's new book River Monsters: True Stories of the Ones that Didn't Get Away. It covers a lot of the fishing trips he's taken on the show. I like it very much so far. And there are a few pictures of a young Jeremy Wade--he's gotten even better looking with age.

[slyest romantic]

It took me a while to come around to this show, because at first, I thought it was going to be some aquatic version of trying to catch Sasquatch or something. You know, let's see if we can catch the Loch Ness Monster, what other lake "monsters" can we catch, etc. But Animal Planet had a massive marathon around the end of May (it seemed to be on every time I clicked past AP, to the extent I jokingly referred to it as the Jeremy Wade channel), and I got, well, hooked.

A huge part of the appeal is the man himself, not only because of the physical, but as many of you have said, the respectfulness of the cultures he visits. He never mocks the myths and isn't ashamed to admit when he doesn't know something, and when he does reveal his wealth of knowledge as a biologist to the viewer, it never comes across as ivory towerish. I like the self-deprecating humour as well, particularly in the "Unhooked" episodes, where he reveals bets he has with crew members and guides.

Just an all-round interesting man and show. Fish on!

[EndoKE]

I'm bumping this thread up because the last episode was on last week. Jeremy went to Guyana, to an area so remote there were no villages anywhere near. But my favorite part of the episode was the waterfall at the end, he said it was five times the height of Niagara. For some reason, that last scene with him standing by the waterfall brought tears to my eyes, it was so beautiful and I hope it remains unspoiled.

[arkansan]

I really like the scientific approach he uses to break down the myths. He's a calm voice of reason amid the sometimes irrational environment he finds in remote areas.

[shriekingeel]

I love this show because it takes the world's most boring and unwatchable TV format (the fishing show) and turns it into something fascinating. There's a reason that Animal Planet reruns these endlessly.

[EndoKE]

Yes, and I'd listen to Jeremy Wade read the phone book. That scene with him by the waterfall was just breathtakingly beautiful. He really has an appreciation for the environment.

[xphile101]

I love this show (just discovered it about a month ago) and am sad that there isn't more discussion about it here. I, too, would listen to Jeremy Wade read the phone book, or just tell me everything he knows about fish. I love his on-location hosting style.

I wish they'd give more behind the scenes information in the Unhooked episodes. Those little nuggets just aren't enough! They need to let the crew speak more, too - in the Unhooked episode about the lightning strike in Suriname I really enjoyed hearing from the cameramen and the sound guy who actually got struck.

[notwisconsin]

I"ve had a hard time finding this show here, but since the new season started I figured I'd give it a bump. The first three episodes were great. The thing about it that I love is that usually he discovers that the mysterious critters are almost always known to science already. It's not what almost all other of this type of shows do, looking for monsters that don't exist and only finding traces of something that's probably fake. Wade ALWAYS finds his quarry.

It's always a pleasure to find an adventurer who knows what he's doing. The Chernobyl stuff was interesting as it wasn't primarily about fishing.

[EndoKE]

Plus he's easy on the eyes too. I know, shallow.